Boss Rock

It's complicated. 2016-2019 he was genuinely a pretty good bruiser and while not a guy you would want in 30-minute main events, was a solid upper-midcarder who could be counted on to have a fun G1. When he turned heel, joined Bullet Club, and became a main eventer, he pretty much eschewed his powerhouse style in favor of one that relies on repeated interference spots and cheating. And he would do this virtually every match which, in a promotion with a big emphasis on in-ring action, was a major drag for such a pushed act. But he reportedly had a good match with Takeshita last year in the G1 finals once he dropped the schtick. And earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom, he had a genuinely solid match against Aaron Wolf in his very first match, which goes to show that the ability still is very much there. It's just buried under horrible overbooking.

Jun made my top 10 at 8. Really one of the best peak + longevity cases in wrestling.

I went with Eddie at 32 and Ozaki at 34, but honestly I could go either way with them. I'd say Eddie was more versatile in his ability to thrive as both a face and a heel. And not only was his execution better, but his ability to get great matches out of wrestlers like JBL of all people can't be overlooked. That being said, I think Ozaki has not only higher peaks (and incredibly high ones at that) but more volume as well. But even in her prime she was a bit sloppy and wasn't immune from working too much of a go-go-go style that could overstay its welcome the longer the match went on.

It would actually be the funniest thing in the world if he immediately started wrestling his pre-HoT style.

Somewhat of a revision as based on some of the discourse I've seen elsewhere and given there are going to be a lot more voters this time around, I wouldn't be surprised if Jericho and Angle make it. As divisive as they are, they definitely have their supporters.

I would suggest his new name be "Malice" had that not already been used by Jerry Tuite (RIP). So can only imagine him going by "Cruel", "Mean", "Ill-Will", or "Unkind."

I have Fuchi at 69. Obviously a big part of those killer trios matches, but a really good singles wrestler as well. His match with Kawada post-Noah exodus in particular is great.

To this very day the man refuses to smile for the camera. Love the commitment.

I thought they were overcomplicating things at first and thought it should just be about Ospreay seeking revenge. But this undoubtedly adds a super interesting wrinkle.

Him trying to reconcile with Charlotte is the popular theory.

Meanwhile Andrade left on good terms and was welcomed back with open arms.

Predicted top 10: Bryan Danielson, Kenta Kobashi, Terry Funk, Genichiro Tenryu, Mitsuharu Misawa, Jumbo Tsuruta, Toshiaki Kawada, Negro Casas, El Hijo del Santo, Stan Hansen Predicted top 3: Bryan Danielson, Kenta Kobashi, Terry Funk Biggest jumps: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Akira Hokuto, Aja Kong, Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay, Chigusa Nagayo, Manami Toyota, Bull Nakano, LA Park, multiple Joshi and lucha wrestlers Biggest drops: Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Ted DiBiase, Ronnie Garvin, Kerry Von Erich, Shinsuke Nakamura, multiple U.S. 80's wrestlers

Made my ballot: 1. Mitsuharu Misawa 2. Mayumi Ozaki 3. Mick Foley 4. Minoru Suzuki 5. Manami Toyota 6. Matt Jackson 7. Masanobu Fuchi 8. Mark Briscoe 9. Masato Tanaka 10. Mayu Iwatani 11. Megumi Kudo 12. Mima Shimoda 13. Masaaki Mochizuki

Only LA Park, Lioness Asuka, and Low Ki made my ballot.

Made my ballot: 1. Kenta Kobashi 2. Kenny Omega 3. Kazuchika Okada 4. Kota Ibushi 5. Katsuyori Shibata 6. Koji Kanemoto 7. Keiji Mutoh 8. Kana/Asuka

Darby did it. And while I still feel pretty confident Ospreay will win at Wembley, the path to get there and the title picture as a whole feels very unpredictable. And that's good.

At least Kyle is actually from Vancouver, ha. But yeah, odd bit of booking to have that many Canadians lose, particularly Cope and Cage (even if I am personally totally fine with them not winning the tag titles).

This year's Mania build feels like Triple H took a look at last year's underwhelming build and took it as a personal challenge to make it worse.

49 for me.

Just Iyo Sky.

Made my ballot: Jun Akiyama Jushin Liger Jumbo Tsuruta Jerry Lawler Jaguar Yokota Jay Briscoe John Cena

Ospreay challenging for the IWGP title and not the AEW title at Wembley would be a massive misfire on AEW's part.

Just Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hiroshi Hase.

As of right now, top 30. One of the best of the 21st century. As for overall, I think he probably misses the cut as he's never really been in the conversation among fans as much as the Tanahashis, Okadas, Omegas, etc. of NJPW. Which is a shame because like you said, he is the king of consistency and has incredibly high peaks.